Hong Kong’s future both as an important fresh produce market and a re-export hub to China is assured thanks to its strong consumer base and excellent transport links, according to Melinda Meador, the USDA’s attaché to Hong Kong and Macau.
Speaking in the final session of this year’s Asiafruit Congress in Hong Kong on new growth opportunities in established Asian markets, Meador said the outlook for Hong Kong remains positive in spite of the growing number of produce supplying countries gaining direct access to China.
As the US’s sixth biggest market, Hong Kong’s affluent, sophisticated consumer base values high quality imported products, while its business-friendly environment, minimal trade barriers and well established infrastructure and transport links ensure that it will continue to serve as a gateway for fresh produce shipments to China and the region as a whole.
Meador cited Hong Kong’s excellent air links as well as ongoing major infrastructure projects like the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge and the Hong Kong-Shenzhen rail line as examples of how connectivity between Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China is set to increase in the future and further facilitate trade.
She also noted that the long-established relationships that many importers had built up with their customers in China would ensure that they remained the favoured option for distributors of fresh produce in southern China.
In terms of its own potential, Meador observed that efforts by retailers to develop online platforms, as well the emergence of specialist boutique fruit stores and government initiatives to promote healthy eating would guarantee Hong Kong’s survival as a major consumer market in the region in the years to come.
Another of the speakers, Edward Yoon Kim of South Korea’s Costo Wholesale, told delegates that there were no special strategies that guaranteed success in established markets other than going back to basics and providing high quality at a low price. Instead of being focused on supply issues, retailers should take heed of what consumers are demanding and learn from success in other sectors, he said.
“Selecting the right partners, developing and advertising your products to consumers and focusing on the top line will ensure success,” he noted. “Consumers don’t want new products, they want new experiences.”
The session’s two other speakers were Carlos Aldeco of Mexico’s agriculture ministry, who flagged up the huge potential of two of the country’s biggest exports to Asia, avocados and berries in the Chinese market, and Chris Groot of Dutch seed specialist Enza Zaden who outlined some of the product innovations that he said would continue to drive demand in established Asian markets and elsewhere.
No comments yet